I'm doing a bit of moonlighting tonight. ALDC is always first with the by-election results and they've decided to recruit a team of volunteers to report them. Tonight's by-election reporting comes from @caronmlindsay. Caron is on the exec of ASLDC and is editor of @libdemvoice. Thank you very much for helping and if you're interested in helping send us a message! pic.twitter.com/AmEV6SBT9k — ALDC (@ALDC) January 31, 2019 It's a great way to get involved and it's something you can do on your sofa in your pyjamas while watching Question Time. Don't worry, I won't post a photo. All you ...

Crossens Saturday, 9th February, St John's Primary School, Rufford Road, Crossens, from 11am to 12 noon. Churchtown Thursday, 28th February, BoxTree Kitchen for Queenscourt cafe, Manor Road/Cambridge Road, roundabout, from 10:30am to 11:30am. We will be there to meet you and discuss any Council problems you may have. No appointment necessary. Just pop in.

[IMG: Is Brexit making you feel as if you are jumping off a plane?] First published in The Minneapolis Star Tribune, U.S., June 28, 2016 | By Steve Sack The post Is Brexit making you feel as if you are jumping off a plane? appeared first on FeministMama.

Last night, I attended Gateshead's planning committee where a decision was to be taken on whether or not to allow in principle up to six houses to be built on Chase Park, Whickham. I will discuss that issue on another post. I am not a member of the committee but was there to film this section of the agenda. In the meantime, let us look instead at the claims of someone else who attended the

Last summer planning permission was granted for the redevelopment of the Old Flour Mill in St Mary's Road, Market Harborough, and the adjacent flooded derelict site. Now the land is up for sale again. Which gives us more time to enjoy this delicious corner of urban neglect. Urban explorers, incidentally, have been inside the old mill.

One of the reasons I wanted to resume blogging again was properly to capture my real-time thinking on issues. It's good for the soul to be constantly reminded when you read yourself back quite how stupidly wrong you're capable of being. (Though this technique doesn't seem to work for Nick Timothy.) Last week, I opened with the lines, 'What is Theresa May playing at? A week on from the heaviest parliamentary defeat since ever, and still she's clinging to her Brexit deal, her Plan A-thru-Z.' Yet the logic of her position now seems both clear and justifiable. True, she only ...

These days this blog does not aspire to offer a hot take on each days events. In fact, I have rather tired of blogs that do. One reason for this is that your takes will probably be wrong. I know that doesn't stop newspaper columnists, who rely on the fact that no one remembers what they said the week before, but I am a veteran of the days when bloggers thought they were doing some different and more honest. A good example of getting wrong is a post I wrote in April 2016 where, in response to some long-forgotten speech ...

Jeremy Corbyn is about to run out of road. He has to pick a side now. Does he go with the majority of his party and back a People's Vote or does he enable a Tory Prime Minister to inflict a hard Brexit on the country by backing her deal. Theresa May's tweet about her meeting with Corbyn yesterday was interesting: I was pleased to meet @JeremyCorbyn and discuss how we ensure Britain leaves the EU on 29 March. I stressed to him the importance of the UK being able to do our own trade deals, and emphasised that the ...

Calder's blog is an eclectic mix of musical choices, random news items from Shropshire (where he doesn't live), and political news and views.So said the New Statesman back in 2008. Well, it's been a good week for random news item from Shropshire. Following the Bishop's Castle poetry pharmacy we have two more today. Item: People in south Shropshire have been told not to drink tap water after an "unauthorised connection" was attached to the water network. Severn Trent Water said it had issued 69 'do not drink' orders to people in the Craven Arms area after finding the private connection, ...

David Ward (Photo: The Independent) It's been a while since I've felt the need to talk about David Ward, the former MP for Bradford East. For those unfamiliar with Mr Ward, his membership of the party was suspended pending investigation into alleged anti-Semitic comments shortly before the General Election of 2017. Ward then stood as an independent candidate, finishing third. he was then, I believe, expelled from the party for standing against the official Lib Dem candidate. Ward has been a controversial figure for some time, not least because of statements he has made on Israel, the Holocaust and the ...

In December, Scotland's Children's Commissioner published a shocking report which stated that local authorities risked breaking the law and breaching vulnerable and disabled children's human rights with the way they used restraint and seclusion. Out of the 18 local authorities which record such incidents, almost 400 children were subjected to these procedures a total of 2764 times. And 14 local authorities gave no information at all so the overall figure may be higher. The report made 22 recommendations to which the Scottish Government was to respond to by the end of January. There was one particularly disturbing account of the ...

In two months time, or 57 days to be precise, we are due to leave the European Union. Nobody, neither Theresa May, British businesses nor voters has any certainty as to the terms of our departure. The person primarily responsible for this fiasco is Mrs May. She set out in her Lancaster House speech in [...]

Usually I would welcome the end of January, but this time it's a little bittersweet as it means the end of these lovely daily prompts popping into my inbox! Day Twenty-SevenHow much do you know about your local area? ReflectThe area I live in is very residential: I know that the town nearby is incredibly old (mentioned in the Domesday Book!) but years of development means that there is very little left of its character; especially on the high street.When my partner and I fancy a day out somewhere we find that we usually either head into London, or scarper ...

The Lane was flooded yesterday and clearly, the water froze overnight. However, by this afternoon the road was clear again. This was the scene about 1.30pm today:- But as you can see the water in the deep ditch is still very high. I had noticed how high it was last Monday but also saw an excavator seemingly trying to clear it then. I'm guessing a blockage in the drainage system is the cause? Click on the photo to enlarge it

Yesterday, Brent Lib Dems' chair Anton Georgiou got a text from his sister. She has Epilepsy which is controlled by taking six tablets a day. She had gone to the pharmacy to put in a prescription. Here's her text, reproduced with her's and Anton's permission: My sister is epileptic. To control her condition she must take 6 tablets a day. Our local pharmacy is already struggling to get hold of the medication she needs. It'll only get worse. This is scandalous. #Brexit pic.twitter.com/mSS5ccfy86 — Anton Georgiou (@anton_georgiou) January 30, 2019 This is the reality of what people are living with. ...

Responding to the Home Secretary's plan to give new powers to the police to tackle knife crime, Liberal Demcorat Home Affairs spokesperson Ed Davey said:"The UK is in the grip of a knife crime epidemic, so all ideas should be considered, especially ways to stop the glorification and incitement of this violence on social media. "But Ministers must remember that ASBOs have a very mixed record - they were often seen as a 'badge of honour' by young offenders and required significant police resources which no longer exist thanks to the Conservatives' police cuts. "Worse still, this plan ignores the ...

The Liberal Democrats have called for urgent action to tackle overcrowding and recruit more prison officers following new figures showing a dramatic increase in deaths, self-harm and assaults in prison. The statistics, published today by the Ministry of Justice, show that in 2018 there were 325 deaths in prison, up 10% since 2017. The figures also reveal self-harm incidents. Assaults have reached new record highs. In the 12 months to September 2018, there were:52,814 incidents of self-harm, up 23% year-on-year; 33,803 assaults, up 20% year-on-year & the highest on record; this includes 10,085 assaults on staff, up 29% year-on-year.Liberal Democrats ...

Responding to the announcement that February recess for the House of Commons has been cancelled, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable said:"The Liberal Democrats have no problem with working hard to deliver whatever needs to be done in the national interest."But there is no doubt that the Tory Government is in this desperate position as a result of their own chaotic planning. There is a huge tranche of legislation which needs to be worked through and given proper scrutiny."The Prime Minister must accept reality and seek a postponement to the Article 50 deadline which would give time, not just ...

How many of you know a young carer? Today we are celebrating the contributions many of our young people make as carers. It is Young Carers Awareness Day. Caring can take many forms – a sibling caring for another sibling with a learning disability, a child looking after a parent, a young person helping aid a grandparent. The world of care is diverse and often misunderstood, and many of our young carers are overlooked. They are balancing their care responsibilities with school work and sometimes have little time left over. One issue I wanted to explore here is the symbiotic ...

On Monday (or was it Tuesday?) whenever it was, 14 Labour MPs walked through the government lobbies in an attempt to ensure Brexit happens on March 29, whatever that Brexit is. They did so for a variety of reasons but lets be honest, who honestly gives two hoots? The reason I say that is because is actually doesn't matter. All that matters these days is our own opinions and whatever actually happens in the real world, we'll find a way to match up our own pre-deposed thoughts with what is going down in reality. The other morning I was reading ...

Wed, 12:26: RT @JenniferMerode: European commission adopts three no-deal measures: - allow Erasmus students to complete their studies; -protect pension... Wed, 12:56: RT @oliviaabland: Yesterday morning I had a job interview for a position at a company called Web Applications UK. After a brutal 2 hour int... Wed, 16:05: RT @donswaynos: This scene is a disaster and there are way too many cuts but I want to defend the editor because of what I'm assuming he ha... Wed, 17:45: Favourite soundtrack: I love Murray Gold's School Reunion, both the reunion scene and the calculating kids. But sho... https://t.co/1kxbE6wADV Wed, 18:50: ...

Whatever you say about the impact of Brexit on the economy is dismissed as Project Fear by arch-leavers, who will not accept the disastrous consequences of their campaign until the UK is on its knees, and even then they will blame somebody else. It is interesting therefore to see this article in the Independent, which quotes the report by a House of Lords committee, suggesting that the UK lost more than €5bn (£4.5bn) in infrastructure funding in a year as lending from the EU collapsed following the Brexit vote. They say that peers have warned that major infrastructure projects would ...

Following last week's blog on why I'm a PPC, I'm reflecting this week on the conundrum facing every PPC: how to manage a healthy work/life balance. I'm starting from the premise that I am a much better PPC when I'm living in a balanced way, finding time for family, walks, reading books and (in my case) going to church. If all I did was politics, 24/7, I don't think I'd have perspective. For many PPCs, it is a real struggle to balance work, downtime and the demands of being a PPC. I can relate. I'm self-employed, so in some respects ...

Russia, China and Turkey have come out of the woodwork to defend Nicolas Maduro's indefensible regime. These three countries have one thing in common: they do not mind throwing lawyers in jail. On January 28, in an quick courtroom trial, a court in Tianjin (a port city 200 kilometres southeast of Beijing) sentenced attorney Wang [...] The post How Venezuela could tie up the West appeared first on Radix.

I'm probably getting near to doing this one to death but with Highways England having just spent a few £m on 'upgrading' it for safety reasons I'm struggling to see how they have effectively tackled speeding. To my mind, one of the major issues at this junction has always been the approach speed of vehicles coming off the M57. Yes, I know that unfamiliarity with the junction (by infrequent users) and the complexity of it leads to accidents as well due to drivers veering from lane to lane. And it seems to be this aspect that Highways England has tried ...

Last summer Shropshire councillors agreed to set up a volunteer snow warden scheme across the county. The cabinet agreed to push ahead with the scheme in September. Yesterday I was told "Due to other priorities, and particularly having a new highways contractor to mobilise and the unusually high number of potholes due to the harsh winter, we unfortunately will not be able to get snow wardens up and running this year." This is frustrating new as we face snow overnight tonight. The swingeing cuts to the council's highways budgets means that it has no hope of clearing most pavements - ...